Jungle Explorer Obstacle Trail

A single looped course with a jungle theme: cross the bridge, hop the river stones, crawl through the cave, climb the mountain and duck under the vines. Kids practice varied locomotor skills and overall coordination.

How to play

1. Set up the loop: gym bench (bridge), 5 hoops (river), tunnel (cave), wedge on a mat (mountain) and 3 poles on cones (vines).
2. Go through it once telling the story: "We're explorers looking for the lost parrot" (2 min).
3. Kids start one at a time when you tap their shoulder, so nobody waits.
4. Bridge: walk slowly along the bench. River: two-foot jump stone to stone. Cave: crawl. Mountain: climb up on all fours and slide down sitting. Vines: duck under.
5. They walk back around the outside and go again, for 5 minutes.
6. Tambourine: "Here comes the rain!" Everyone squats right where they are. Next tap, they continue. Another 5 minutes.
7. One last slow-motion lap, then a circle: "Which part was the hardest?" (3 min).

Rules

• Only one person on the bench at a time.
• We come down the mountain sitting.
• No passing on the bridge or in the cave.
• When the tambourine sounds, squat where you are.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the child does the river and vines at their own pace with a buddy; the bench becomes a line on the floor.
• Hearing impairment: also signal the rain by raising a colored scarf.
• More skilled: cross the bridge holding a beanbag; less skilled: stones close together and a helping hand on the bench.

Learning goals

• Link different locomotor skills in one course.
• Adjust movement to each obstacle.
• Stop and restart movement on a signal.

Equipment for a class of 25

• gym bench: 1
• hoops: 5
• fabric tunnel: 1
• foam wedge: 1
• mats: 2
• poles: 3
• cones: 6
• tambourine: 1

Teacher tip

Stand next to the bench, the riskiest spot. Telling the story as you go through the course hooks kids far more than any explanation.

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